In certain application situations, it is necessary for electronic devices or assemblies to be completely (“hermetically”) sealed. These include devices that must operate reliably under aggressive environmental conditions or in a living body on a permanent basis, which is to say, among other things, implantable electronic medical devices. However, on occasion, such hermetic sealing is also required for special assemblies in larger devices or equipment.
Proven methods exist for producing such sealed electronic assemblies or devices with reasonable complexity. Depending on the material and geometric configuration of the device encasement, these include welding methods (and in particular laser welding methods), soldering methods (and in particular brazing methods), sintering methods, and the like. In all these methods, the assembly or the device is subjected, at least in sections, to a relatively high thermal load, which results in corresponding thermal stresses and, possibly, also in a certain degree of damage to the materials used. In principle, these thermal stresses are not desired, or this certain degree of damage is not desired, but generally tolerated. A basic disadvantage of these methods is that the inevitable thermal load limits the spectrum of usable materials from the outset.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-mentioned problems.